A Triumphant Mom

I sat on the edge of the bed, wrinkled tissue in hand. "Why me?"

I had asked that question with every tick tock of the clock during sleepless nights.

At 31, a hereditary retinal disease robbed my eyesight completely. It pulled a dark curtain of devastation and sorrow into my life and erased any hope I had of being a productive mom to my three, five, and seven-year-old sons.

One day, as self-pity was visiting again, a close friend called.

"Just checking on you," she said. "How are you doing?"

I wasn't doing. My life looked dark in every way and the tasks of a blind mom were too much for me.

"Okay, I guess," I lied.

Then she said something profound. Something that opened the eyes of my heart and changed everything.

"If you think about it," she said, "your kids are really God's children. He is their Father and He's in charge of all big and small things."

I wiped my tears, inhaled a deep sigh, and let that truth sink into my heart. It brought the encouragement I needed to sweep away those "poor-me" notions, and sparked a renewed passion to care for my sons.

Now with a brighter outlook and a sweet love for my role as their mom, I compiled my own list of what makes a "good" mom:

• A Mom who knows mistakes will be corrected in the hands of a loving God.
• A Mom who goes to sleep at night with dishes still in the sink, but a bedtime story in her kid's heart.
• A Mom who knows perfection will happen on the other side of heaven.
• A Mom who sees her kid's weaknesses and still smiles at his strengths.
• A Mom who places guilt in the garbage disposal of life.
• A Mom who leaves fingerprints on the glass door to place an imprint of love in her kid's heart.
• A Mom who looks in the mirror and smiles because she is molding one of the leaders of tomorrow.
• A Mom who picks shoes off the floor, thankful her kids can walk.
• A Mom who listens to endless chatter, thankful her kids can talk.
• A Mom who's signed a partnership with God.
• A Mom who stirs this sweetener in the coffee cup of her heart: "I can do all things through the Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

And while she drops exhausted in bed at the end of the day, truth shines through: It's not the items checked off on the to-do list, accomplishments managed, the applause never heard or the help always needed; but it's the certainty that echoes in her heart, that her true greatness is in the Father's eyes, her sorrows are in His heart and her triumphs are in His plans.

Copyright © 2013, Janet Perez Eckles, used by permission.